If you want to get a good laugh The Have Nots will be performing at Theater 99  at 8pm on Saturday, August 28th, followed by New York commedien Kenny Z at 10 pm.

Saturday, August 28 from 12-9pm and Sunday, August 29 from 12-9pm , The Beach Music and Shag Preservation Society present the 57th Annual Charleston Beach Music and Shag Festival. For more information go to Pivots Beach Club.

Charleston Battery vs Richmond Kickers for the USL-2 2010 Championship at Blackbaud Stadium on Saturday, August 28th.  To purchase tickets go to www.charlestonbattery.com.

Wednesday, August 25th, South Carolina Acquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Dinner featuring a “Fish for the Future” menu.  Enjoy the local favorites while learning how your choices can today can ensure healthy fish for the future. This will take place at Carolina’s restaurant in downtown Charleston from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.  For more information call (843) 577-FISH (3474) A portion of the proceeds will bo to benefit the South Carolina Aquarium Sustainable Seafood initiative.

Train will be at The Family Circle Cup Tennis Center on Thursday, August 26th. 

Saturday,August 21, at James Island County Park at 8:30 p.m. Enjoy Reggae Nights. Bring your chair and enjoy the outdoors.  Refreshments are available. For more information call (843) 795-4386
Fee: $6 adults, Free: children under 12

These are just a small number of options of things to do in Charleston.  For more information a great place to look is The Charleston City Paper.

Colonial Dorchester County State Park: This park has walking paths, picnic tables and remains of the old town include the brick bell tower of St. George’s Anglican Church, a fort made of the oyster-shell concrete and part of a log wharf visible at low tide.   Admission for children is free.  Adults are $2.  Have a look at this video and see the beauty of the park. ETV Video

Charleston Tea Plantation:  Located on Wadmalaw Island.  It is the home of American Classic Tea, the only tea grown in the United States. Free factory tours. Open 7 days a week. 

Charleston Children’s Museum:  This is a great place for kids to visit.  Children under 12 enter for free, everyone else is $7.

Under $5.

Histotric Fort Moultrie   Soak in some history at one of the most Admission is free for children under 16 and $3 for Adults. 

Charles Towne Landing:   Adult $5, SC seniors $3.25, children ages 6 to 15 $3 and under 3 is free. Self-guided audio tour for the historic trail is an extra $5

Hope I’ve given you and your family some good ideas.  Also don’t forget, if you just want to stay outdoors and stay cool you can always visit any of the three waterparks in Charleston or any one of our great beaches.

July 17, 8pm The Smashing Pumpkins with Kill Hannah/Bad City at the Music Farm.

July 17, 8pm If you need to laugh catch The Have Nots at Theatre 99. 

July 17, The first 1,000 fans to attend Saturday nights Charleston Riverdogs game against the Augusta Green Jackets will get a homemade Alvin Greene bobblehead doll.

July 18, The Hot Seats, Weigh Station, play their set of ragtime, bluegrass, old-time, and roots music to the Pour House deck for a free show at 6 pm

Have a great weekend!

Sat, June 10, the Storm Eye Institute and Sun Trust Bank will be conducting free eye screenings for those with diabetes or glaucoma or a family history of these diseases.  To make your appointment call (843) 884-2222.

Sun, July 11, Boz Scaggs will be performing at The North Charleston Performing Arts

For other musical events this weekend check out the Charleston City Paper

If you are looking for something to do with the kids check out the Cypress Gardens . You’ll find a host of things to do such as, swamp boat rides, nature trails and a butterfly house that has over 12 species of butterflies.

You can also take the kiddies to the Charleston Museum which continues its kidstory mini-exhibition series for children with Magnificent Mammals, the second of three new Natural History Exhibits.

As we place ourselves in the seller or Buyer’s shoes we have to acknowledge they may be confused a little frustrated and possibly scared. The information they have accumulated has mostly come from the news reports they have either listened to or read. Some of it will be fact, some may be myth, so we have to educate them on what is really happening and become their expert guide by directing and guiding them with factual information.  First, whether it is buyer or seller it’s important to go over the process of buying and selling, make it detailed,sharing with them exactly what is going to happen including what might go wrong and how you will handle it.

Supply and demand has always been a measure on whether or not it is a buyer’s market or a seller’s market.  In most markets today it is a buyer’s market; inventory is high, we have foreclosures and short sales competing with sellers who have to move for either business reasons or personal reasons. Which means we sometimes have to be the bearer of bad news (the house will not sell at the price the seller was expecting.)  The houses that are selling today are either in perfect condition, or at the best value. Which means price per sq ft, incentives, and how we are planning to market it.  Our goal of course (even though the absorption rate in a particular neighborhood might me 14 to 15 months) is to sell the house at the  highest realistic price.  The seller, even though they might not like what we are telling them, does appreciate the honesty. The goal of the seller is to move, our goal is to sell the house, we are doing the seller and ourselves a disservice if  we do not share the market facts. Yes, that means sometimes they decide not to sell. Which is definitely good for us also as were not in the business of listings houses, we are in the business of selling the houses we list.

Explaining the process of the sale to the buyer means the difference between a smooth transition and possibly a difficult one. They will need to understand the contract, before they decide to buy a house.  Give them a copy of the contact at the first meeting so they can go over it at their leisure, if there  items that they have question about, you can  explain them, so they will know what they are signing when they find the house they want to buy.

When we educate our buyers and sellers it establishes our value to our clients, they want to work with an agent who can recognize the importance of explaining each step of the journey to either buying or selling their investment.

We provide full service and our agents consistently list more and consequently sell more properties than agents with other companies.    Carolina One signs are everywhere and as a result our agents are quite often able to sell their own listings based on the volume of inquiries.

We provide a variety of in house training programs, that vary from office to office but consistently we help our agents grow to a level they want to grow to.  We will help you set goals and achieve those goals through regular office meetings, regular educational opportunities and one on one management assistance and coaching.   Because of our top notch training programs our agents are the best prepared and best educated agents in the marketplace today.

Ask Sheila why our agents make more money than other agents in the area.  And how we guide and direct you to take your career to the next level.

Sheila is actively recruiting new and experienced agents to join our team.  Our office is located in the James Island area of Charleston, servicing all areas of Charleston.

Sheila’s goal is to help her agents grow their business to whatever level of success they seek and still achieve balance in their personal lives too.

Whether you are looking to make a career change, or if you are just curious and want to see what we have to offer, give Sheila a call today and set up a no obligation meeting.

If you are thinking about selling your home or buying a home call our office today and a well qualified Carolina One agent will be happy to assist you in the marketing and sale of your home, or the buying of your new home.

KINDNESS BEATS BLINDNESS RP AUCTION  Sat., June 26, 6 p.m.  Bid on items at the Riverdogsgame to benefit MUSC’s Storm Eye.  Items include tickets to a Broadway show, fine jewelry, spa retreats and much more.

SHAG AWAY AT THE BOONE HALL BEACH BLAST  SAT. JUNE 26 at Boone Hall Plantation. Gates open at 11:00 a.m. Enjoy the music of Tommy Emanual and more.

If you just want to stay cool and have some fun remember there is always fun to be had at any of the Charleston County Parks or you might want to be inside in the air conditioning at the SC Aquarium visiting the Albino Alligator.  Whatever you do stay cool and be safe.

Congress Abandons Critical Housing Programs – Again

Once again, Congress left town without reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and the Section 502 Rural Housing programs. The NFIP is now expired. The Section 502 Rural Housing program has exhausted its funding and lenders have stopped accepting applications.

Until Congress extends NFIP, no new or renewal flood policies can be issued. Without the flood insurance coverage provided by NFIP, thousands of residential and commercial transactions are on hold.

Congress has also abandoned the Section 502 Rural Housing Program. The housing program provides zero-down-payment mortgages to eligible families in rural area of every state.  Many of these families signed contracts before April 30th and plan to utilize the home-buyer tax credit.  If this program is not restored soon, they will lose their chance.

On Saturday, June 18, Woodlands Inn  in Summerville is grilling out (and dad doesn’t have to man the tongs, like at home) with their Beer and BBQ Tasting with Palmetto Brewery. It’s $55 (plus tax and gratuity), which covers four courses: grilled shrimp, togarashi, pickled watermelon rind, and cucumber; Carolina-style smoked chicken and pulled pork with Anson Mills grits; a main course of Moroccan spiced Lamb, tangine, and saffron couscous; and a dessert of warm chocolate and espresso cake with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge. Of course, there’s also beer pairings with each course, and dad even gets an after-dinner cigar and bourbon. Reservations are required.

On Sunday, June 20, there will be a Father’s Day Brunch buffet style featuring BBQ Benedict, Red-eye gravy, shrimp and grits and much more.  Cost $55.  There will also be a kids menu for kids (4-12).

If you want t dine in a more casual venue you can grab a steak at Outback and dad has a chance to win FREE Outback for a year! The special goes from June 18-June 20.

SC Aquarium  has free admission for fathers with a paying guest or child. Sunday, June 20 from 9am to 6pm.

If your dad is the outdoors type, take him on a k ayaking trip with Sea Kayak  Carolina. The tour begins at 7:30 am to the launch point at Battery Island and goes to Sandy Point on Kiawah Island. Rental kayaks are $30.  You can bring your own kayak

If you want to give dad a different gift for Father’s Day because you are tired of giving him the same old things, check out Bellezza Buzz spa and give dad a relaxing treatment.